


Modesty

by TonyPie17



Series: Rose of Every Colour [10]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Cooking, Flower Language, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 02:52:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3961732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonyPie17/pseuds/TonyPie17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ninth flower is rather pleasant, but the Dwarrow Bilbo gives it to thinks he does not deserve it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Modesty

**Author's Note:**

> This was, by far, probably the hardest one to write, because I didn't know _how_ to write it. So it's definitely not the best one.

They had grown up in the halls of Ered Luin.

Bombur, along with his brother and cousin, had never been Ereborean Dwarves. They were not of the line of Durin, like the others of their company were. They had been born and raised in Ered Luin, where they had managed to live good lives. They were not rich, nor were they the most sought after. Bombur ran a nice little eatery and his brother and cousin were a toymaker and a tinker. They enjoyed the life they lived, and they enjoyed having each other.

Things were well and good for them up until an accident that happened in the mines. An axe embedded in his skull and unable to speak Westron any longer, Bifur had given Bombur and Bofur quite the fright. They thought he would not have long to live, thought that one morning they would wake up and their cousin would not.

It cost all the money they had to get Bifur back to a state of being able function without them. He still needed help, from time to time, but he could more or less do things on his own. He’d gone back to whittling and carving, but he’d never be able to work in the mines again. Bofur and Bombur had to make hard decisions to keep their cousin alive, and afterwards they’d had almost nothing (but each other, thankfully). So another hard decision had to be made.

That decision was to follow the King Under the Mountain (at the time without a mountain) to reclaim the treasure and ancestral home of Durin’s Folk. They had chosen to go, because there was nothing left for them in Ered Luin. Their shops had to be closed to pay for Bifur’s treatment, leaving them to move from inn to inn with the little money they had left. They needed to change their lives in order to be able to settle again, and Thorin gave them that opportunity.

This was the story Bombur shared with Bilbo one evening, when Hobbit and Dwarf were in Bilbo’s kitchen cooking a hearty feast for their friends and family. Every year the mountain celebrated the reclamation of Erebor with something akin to a festival, but the original Company (along with their families) always came together to spend the time with each other.

“You’ve seen much hardship, Bombur, my friend,” Bilbo sympathized. Bombur merely laughed, shaking his head.

“It has made us stronger, Bilbo,” he replied. “Without that time, we would not be the Dwarrow we are today. We did only what we had to.”

Bilbo didn’t doubt that. Experiences like those were some that changed entire lives, most for worst instead of better. But Bombur had come out of the situation stronger for it.

“Plus, if we’d have not come on the journey, I’d have never met you and learned some of those Hobbit cooking secrets!” Bombur laughed now. Bilbo didn’t exactly agree with that; he felt like he’d learned more from Bombur than Bombur from him.

“I think that should be the other way around,” Bilbo snorted to himself. But he smiled again. “Thank you for teaching me how to make those wonderful tarts. I kept wondering why I could never get them right at first.”

“Ah, that was nothing at all,” Bombur shook his head. “I made my fair share of mistakes with that recipe too.”

“I’m just glad I did get it right eventually. Lord Elrond was very appreciative of them when I visited.” That had been several weeks ago, when Bilbo had spoken with the Elves at the Last Homely House to ensure that everything was fine with trading; a few caravans hadn’t all made it to Erebor in one piece, and Thorin had needed to find out what had happened. Bilbo had gone (with Dwalin following along with Nori and Kili) to find out what had happened along the root, and found that the problem had lied in the Misty Mountains, where goblins had been attacking.

“Did he? That’s good news, then?” Bombur was one of the few that had started to see the better sides of the Elves earlier on. He had placed trust in them when they started supplying the grain and cattle that became Erebor’s staple foods. At that point Bombur had been appointed the mountain’s head cook, a very prestigious position if Bilbo said so himself.

“Yes, it is good. By the way, I’ve been meaning to say, the tomatoes are finally ripe enough to be picked,” Bilbo said now.

“Excellent! Most of the younger lads won’t eat many vegetables, but if we make a stew with a tomato base, they’ll love it. I remember Bofur enjoying it when we were younger,” Bombur nodded, excited.

“I look forward to trying it myself,” Bilbo smiled. He remembered Bofur mentioning it once (with Bifur agreeing wholeheartedly). “I know I don’t say it often, but you’re quite the cook, Bombur.”

“Oh, not at all! I’m no better than any other Dwarrow,” Bombur shook his head. He didn’t think his skills were all that good.

“No, really, you’re absolutely phenomenal,” Bilbo continued. “Best I’ve seen since my own father, but that’s a bit biased.”

Bombur turned a bit pink at that, and before he could possibly deny the compliment, Fili came running through with Gimli.

“Uncle’s finally back! _Amad’s_ sent us to help set the table,” Fili stated.

“Where’s Kili?” Bilbo frowned, since the three were usually altogether, as Fili, Kili, Gimli, and Ori were the youngest of everyone (with Gimli being the youngest of all the members of their little family) (Bilbo didn’t count because he was an adult in his own culture).

“Kili’s gone with Master Dori down to the guilds, since he caused a bit of trouble earlier today,” Gimli explained.

“Did he now? I knew I should have had him here with us,” Bilbo tutted. Bombur laughed and shook his head.

“I’d think not. That boy is more a menace in the kitchen than anything else. Holds great potential, but can never keep his hands from wandering!” the round dwarrow chortled.

Bilbo chuckled in agreement, while Fili and Gimli snickered behind their hands.

“Alright now, you two. Start setting the table. I’ve got to pop into the Greenhouse for a bit,” the Hobbit ordered, clearing his throat. The two nodded and started taking dishes to be placed onto the table. Bilbo smiled at Bombur.

“Wait here a moment, please,” Bilbo requested. Bombur looked surprised, but he agreed. Bilbo quickly went out to the garden, looking around his rose beds for―

“Ah! There you are.”

One small rosebush was what he was in search of. He walked over to it after grabbing his shears from the nursery and quickly clipped two of the roses on it. He brought them in and immediately placed one in the vase. With the other he headed into the kitchen, where Bombur had just removed a roast beef from the oven.

“This is for you,” Bilbo stated. Bombur turned around and blinked in surprise at the beautiful, peach coloured rose being held out to him.

“What’s the occasion?” Bombur asked, confused, but he took the flower none the less. He inhaled and was surprised to get a whiff of peaches from the rose.

“No occasion. I just thought about you when I saw it,” Bilbo smiled. Bombur stared at the rose a bit longer before looking up at Bilbo.

“Well. Thank you for this. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I know flower giving is a heartfelt practice in the Shire, from what some of the others have told me.” The red-haired Dwarrow tucked the flower behind his ear and smiled wide. Bilbo thought the peach rose really compliment Bombur’s hair.

“Now, shall we help the lads?”

[][][][][]

As the family of Dwarrow sat down for what was sure to be quite the feast, Bilbo picked up his vase of roses and brought them into the dining room. He placed the vase down in the center of the table, and admired it as he took his seat to Thorin’s (who was at the head of the table of course) left. Though Thorin was sure the others merely thought their Hobbit odd for placing the flowers in the middle of the table as a decoration, Thorin thought it curious.

“There’s another one,” Thorin leaned over to whisper.

“Yes, one more today than there was yesterday, hmm?” Bilbo grinned.

“One more now than there was this morning. Any chance you’ll let up and tell me what this one means?” Thorin knew there was no point in asking; over the course of the last year, Bilbo hadn’t once told Thorin what the flowers meant. The Dwarrow King had hoped that he would lose curiosity with time, but it seemed to be the exact opposite. He was more curious than ever now.

“I’ll give you a hint,” Bilbo’s grin turned into a mischievous smile, “The Dwarf I gave it to definitely deserves it, even if he thinks he doesn’t.”

Thorin didn’t exactly know what that meant, but he decided not to push. The mystery was what made all of this so intriguing.

Dis stood to proclaim a toast to another beautiful year gone by without any tragedy to befall the kingdom. She also did a toast to the two wonderful cooks, and Bilbo’s smile grew when Bombur blushed deep red at the compliments.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so Peach Roses don't actually smell like peaches (I found that out and my aunt laughed at me).
> 
> Also, we're finally coming down to the last few installments, and then I get to start on the next series~ More details to come, and also watch out for hints~!
> 
> The Dwarves left are Thorin, Bofur, Ori, and Kili. At this point the order is rather easy to guess, since Thorin will be last, but I still won't tell you all. :P


End file.
